Persei-Aries War Resumes
Arab League Raid on Pamzhdoye Phi-16
FROM: UNITED NATIONS REGIONAL COLONIAL CENTER
011:15 SOL GMT, 08 FEBRUARY 2522
BREAKAUTH: 181072.18J
CLEARANCE: SECRET (NATIONAL)
ARAB LEAGUE RAID ON PAMZHDOYE (Krasnaya Nadhezda / 72 Hercules Phi-16)
In the wake of the Americans largely dropping out of their leading role the Coalition of Eagles in the wake of the Treaty of Zubrin, and the New Roman Empire’s recent frustrations in their opening gambits in the Outer Hebrides (Mu Hercules system), the focus of the Third Hercules War has again shifted to the spinward shoulder Hercules Rim. Here, Lord Commodore Edward Cavendish has begun drawing plans for a war-ending offensive against the Russians, hoping to shove them out of the war as he did with the Americans (not only with military victories but no small amount of political maneuvering).
His partners in this effort will be the Arab League, spearheaded by the Mutamid high-speed cruiser-carrier battlegroup under Captain Rashid al-Maghrebi. With the navy of the Holy Russian Empire teetering somewhat after the string of defeats that largely threw them out of the UN “Redemption” Mandate at 99 Hercules, Cavendish hopes to take his Task Force Agamemnon into Krasnaya Nadhezda (“Red Hope” – 72 Hercules), reinforced by a pair of Fearless class planetary assault cruisers loaded with Royal Marines and Para Commandos. While they come in through the spinward “front” of 72 Hercules, the swift Mutamid battlegroup will sweep around behind and stab the Russians in the back from the coreward side of the Red Hope colonies. The Mutamid battlegroup seems ideal for this mission, given the enhanced Darkstar FTL systems usually installed on Arab League ships.
Successful completion of this operation will more or less throw the Holy Russian Empire out of the war and the Hercules Rim in general, a goal toward which Cavendish has promised the League primary ownership of the 72 Hercules trinary star system, allowing the British to take former Russian holdings in 99 Hercules (Redemption) and thus dominate the center of the Hercules Rim.
There are just two things wrong with this plan at the moment. First, the Russian Navy is no longer “teetering,” they were instrumental in a bloody British reversal at Sigma Rajdana in the Bhogavati (HD176051 star system), winning a victory that helped the Republic of India claim victory in their small part of the Third Hercules War. Second, Task Force Agamemnon itself was badly mauled in this battle, and at least a month of pressure dock and star port repair time before this force can realistically challenge the Holy Russian Empire in 72 Hercules.
So although Captain al-Maghrebi has agreed with this plan and is ready to get underway, the in early February 2522 the British are hardly in a position to undertake their part. Warily watching the Russians rebuild their strength and prodded by persistent rumors that a Peter the Great class battleship might be on its way from the Kuznetsov Shipyards of Gliese 725, the regional Caliphate soon issues orders to the Mutamid battlegroup. Hit the Russians . . . now, even if only to rattle their cages and slow their recovery and buildup in 72 Hercules.
With most of the Admiral Lazarev task force still in dock or returning from the far-off Indian Bhogavati colonies, defense of the Krasnaya Nadhezda colonies will have to fall to a scratch force of a Kutusov class light cruiser, a Gagarin class light fleet carrier, and three K-56 class torpedo corvettes. The Mutamid battlegroup greatly outguns this defense force, but the Russians hold a pretty solid edge in torpedoes and aerospace strike groups. It’s a lopsided match-up of guns vs. torpedoes, victory will undoubtedly go to the side that can make better use of its advantage.
ARAB LEAGUE: @Muakhah
HOLY RUSSIAN EMPIRE: @Oriskany
RAID VICTORY CONDITIONS (236 points)
The situation at the beginning of February 2522. The Indian Republic has “cashed in its chips” and claimed a modest victory in this war. The Americans are technically still in the war, but largely called to heel at least as far as the British are concerned. The first New Roman shove at Mu Hercules has been defeated. Thus, the spinward (upper left) side the Hercules Rim lies largely quiet. Perhaps its only natural that fresh battles flare up along the coreward shoulder of the Rim (lower right) with an Arab League strike out of the Khaizan’s Haven Caliphate, against the Krasnaya Nadhezda colonies of 72 Hercules. 
The two fleets close rapidly along the daylight side of Pamzhdoye (72 Hercules Phi-16), one of the outer terrestrial planets of the smallest of the three 72 Hercules red dwarf stars. But while the Mutamid battlegroup maintains its high approach speed, the Russians are immediately kicking in powerful retros to decelerate. This is somewhat unusual for Russian naval formations, who tend to close as quickly as possible to make best use of heavy plasma and rail cannon gunnery. But if the Russians are going to win this fight, it will be with torpedoes and heavy aerospace strikes. Also, the overloaded strike carrier CPK Ivanishin is going to need three complete turns to launch her entire aerospace group, and remember how slow these Russian P-500 torpedoes are. So the Russians are content to take their time on a slow approach. The League, meanwhile, comes on much faster. Yet with a turn to starboard, they present a long-range broadside to the Russians ... yet also yield the “gravity gauge” to the Russians as well. Now the Russians can maneuver between the league and the planet, forcing the league to turn INTO planet gravity to engage the Russians in future turns. Secondly, the League doesn’t engage the corvettes at this early stage. Sure, their guns can’t do much damage at this distance, but it doesn’t take much to knock out a K-56 and even a single kill means 12 less torpedoes coming at you each turn.
The Russians continue to slip-stream closer to the planet’s frigid nitrogen and methane atmosphere, banking away with a hard turn to port so the light cruiser Dokhturov (named for one of Kutuzov’s generals at the Battle of Borodino) can try to put at least some gunnery into the League warships. It doesn’t do much, while the League hammers away at the Russian Dokhturov. Yes, the Dokhturov is the biggest threat in a gunnery match, but the Russians are determined that this won’t BECOME a gunnery match. Note their torpedoes could have hit the League this turn, but they hold them back, STILL launching the last of their MiG-103 “Tunguska” fighters and Su- 107 “Molniya” (Lightning) scouts for a truly massive SINGLE united ordinance strike. A small scrap of action does take place in the void between the two battlegroups, where League scouts try to shoot down Russian torpedoes but are instead intercepted and they lose two scouts of their own. 
At last, the hammer falls. Just as the massive Russian missile and torpedo strike comes in, the League fleets splits up somewhat, the destroyer Kashan accelerating to port to engage the Russian attack wing of K-56 corvettes. This broadside does pretty well, immediately blowing the bow completely off the K-269, leaving her dead in space. The K-271 also loses all weapons, shields, magazines . . . it’s only blind luck that she’s not crippled as well and maintains power to accelerate out of the battlespace. Captain al-Maghrebi recognizes the threat posed by those Russian torpedoes and recalls his fighters to defend his ships from Russian warheads – and while this dilutes the League’s own aerospace strike, it probably saves his fleet from instantaneous destruction. As it is, his flagship Mutamid and light carrier Abu Bashir are hit astern by a hail of surviving torpedoes from Tu-97 “Zvesburya” (Star Storm) bombers, P-500s from the warships, and aerospace missiles. The Mutamid is crippled and set adrift, as is the Abu Bashir. It’s a devastating strike, but one the Russians have patiently set up for three complete turns (half the game). Betting in its success, the Russians have now finally decided to close the range, with the Ivanishin presenting a full spread of torpedoes and the Dokhturov a 1200-kilometer broadside on the destroyer Jeddah. In addition to the ravaging of the Russian corvette flotilla, the other bright spot for the League is the gutting of Ivanishin’s bomber force, nine of thirteen are blown out of the stars by vengeful “Mylekinir” (Fire Angel) fighters.
Heady with anticipated victory, the Russians dive toward the League, the two surviving destroyers Jeddah and Kashan scattering port and starboard. Empty League “Demkikham” (Vengeance) bombers, with no carrier on which to land, try to strafe the fleeting corvette K-271, but are instead beset by a pack of Russian MiG-103s and largely destroyed. A second (MUCH smaller) Russian torpedo strike goes for the Kashan, who somehow survives the onslaught, while half the Russian MiGs go to strafe the unshielded stern of the Jeddah. But the Jeddah survives as well, and for MiGs are shot down. League torpedoes, lasers. And EPCs continue to hammer the Dokhturov, which is now hobbled with lost maneuvering thrusters, two engines gone, and half-blind with multiple sensor suites knocked out. 
Dokhturov now raises maximum steam, making flank speed (as best she can) to break high orbit and get out of the battle area. The League is determined she won’t escape, however, and finally have crippled her with a broadside from the Jeddah after she has jackknifed to starboard, nearly colliding with the light fleet carrier Ivanishin in the process. The Dokhturov careens out to space, her bridge afire and commander badly wounded. The scrappy little K-273 has pivoted as well, slinging out a third hail of P-500 torpedoes which target the stern of the Jeddah along with most of the remaining Russian MiGs and scouts. The Jeddah is likewise crippled ... only by the LUCKIEST of hits (I needed a “6” on a d6 to cripple her and nailed it), and she will BARELY miss colliding with the tiny asteroid moon about 3000 kilometers ahead, JUST off her port bow. The Russians also launch a torpedo and fighter strafing attack against the Kashan. The MiG pilots hoped those torpedoes from the Ivanishin would occupy Arab point defense, allowing them a clear attack run. They were wrong, League fighters took care of the torpedoes which meant the MiGs took heavy losses on the way in. But the survivors pressed home the attack, savaging the wounded stern of the Kashan until they crippled her as well.
The entire League task force has been crippled, while the Russians still have the carrier Ivanishin and two corvettes to lay claim to the Pamzhdoye orbital zone of 72 Hercules. Yet the Russians have taken heavy damage to their aerospace wing, the captain of the Dokhturov is badly injured, and the wrecked K-269 is ... just never seen again. When rescue ships reach the coordinates indicated by her drifting speed and trajectory, she just isn’t there, forever “missing” as a “ghost ship” of the Hercules Rim. In all, this comes down to a solid yet minor win, as indicated by the RAID score shown.
Here is the new campaign tracking chart in the wake of the skirmishes at Lewis Hill and Pamzhdoye. Suffice it to say the Russians are RESURGENT, having dealt bloody noses to both the British at Sigma Rajdana and the Arab League at Pamzhdoye. Although the New Roman threat has been contained for the time being at Lewis Hill, the plans of Lord Cavendish and Captain al-Maghrebi against 72 Hercules have certainly been stalled for now, both the British and League naval forces in the Hercules Rim will have to regain their balance before contemplating their conceived converging strike on Krasnaya Nadhezda.
Ok, so now both the Russians and de Chalamonde need a beat down!
And the Japs need to get out of the docks as everyone else have spend their forces
Uh oh, does @gladesrunner want to fight a Russo-Roman combined fleet? Poor @damon will rejoin to thread only to learn the British HAVE LOST THE WHOLE WAR! 😀 😀 😀
Indeed, @rasmus – both your Japanese and mine have been oddly silent … Task Forces Liberty / Oriskany and Task Force Naginata are old … “friends.”
Maybe @elessar2590 will being in his “Swedish Knight” task force one of these days. And I’m sure @muakhah wants a little payback …
@oriskany Not this Saturday but the week after I’ll be up taking the the IJN out
Epic, @rasmus!